A lil Multiplexed Geography
Home >>> Eternity(thane) >>> R-Mall (mulund) >> PVR (mulund) >> Huma (kanjurmarg)
0 >>> 15 mins >>> 5mins >> 10 mins >> 20 mins
It was another Sunday... job-bored after a weeeeeeek of intentional chaos .. Its raining outside. I was stuck in a equatorish local train for an hour+ the previous night so I was at my frustrated best. Around 12 I had this sudden impulse.. I have 'em when I'm devoid of any physical discomfort for a substantial period of time. Let's go watch Sivaji - the new Rajnikant movie. Scan the papers... 2:15 Bingo!
Call up my friendly neighbourhood movie-man-friday and fix up a meeting of 1 pm. By the time we are on our way and reach PVR Mulund it is 1:45. There is still time to spare... or is there? Sprint to the ticket line.
"2 tickets for Sivaji?"
Man behind the counter (MBTC): 2 tickets are remaining for the 6 o clock show.
WTF ?
MBTC: No sir, houseful. Only 2 tickets for 6 o clock.
We take 2 tickets for Shrek III which was our back up movie. Should we get the 2 tickets ? What will we do from 4-6? We move out of the line to mull over these burning issues. Bad move !!!!
Call up a friend.. ask him to look at the R-Mall multiplex.. does it have a 4pm ? The R-Adlabs friggin phone line is playing the trailor of 300 in a loop. After 6 minutes on hold, I give up. Paper check... What the... 7:15 ??!! out of the question, run back to the line.
"We'll take the 6 o clock."
[ Thalaivar: "I don't think so! Why don't you dwell on it some more ? Ha Ha ha haaa" ]
MBTC: "Houseful sir! 2 fo 9:45 ?"
AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!! It's barely 2 now. What do you want us to do till 10 in the night ? Dammitt! It's been out a week now. It's saturday afternoon.. who'd come out in this rain? Ans: apparently lots of people.
So we trudge in with our Shrek tickets. Mind racing.. Huma Adlabs.. yeah that might be showing.. Internet kiosk.. check check... 5 pm. Hurray!!! Damn internet site barfs when I select that multiplex. Call up .. contacts.. beg them...Ask friend#1 from prev para. to bike his way and get tickets for the R-Mall 7:15 er. Call back "Front row seats remaining." NNNNnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Another phone call.. "Dude please go get tickets.. Huma 5pm.." Shrek begins... Cut to Interval. He calls back.. 'It's raining heavily.. their phone is in a trailer loop..' Come on tell me something I don't know.. Ok man forget it. Back to Shrek.. Shrek ends. (Don't get me wrong here . Shrek is good but...)
Anyways out of the theatre.. what should we do.. We could go home... Yeah lets. Next thing we're in a bright red bus going the opposite way.. Huma adlabs.. here we come!!
Now it's personal.. I have to see it today!
4:30 pm - Sprint to the ticket counter. Uh Oh! A tamil group stationary near to the counter.. bad omen. Means they don't have tickets... and that means we don't have a polar bear's chance in hell. Still we ask.. and sure enough. Elementary, my dear Watson. Bus back the other way... Seems like the Gods have conspired against us. We're out of multiplexes... still the last bus stop is near R-Mall. We climb three floors err... escalate up... but it felt like climbing with our inner weight of despair.
New MBTC: Sir front row remaining.
No. I didn't go thru all this to watch it like this. I say No ( I have self-respect... or do I ?). A man on the other line is arguing with his MBTC - he's showing his mobile. Son booked Sivaji tickets over phone from bangalore. But in vain.. Join the club, uncle. I decide to mope around and buy some VCDs to ease the pain.
Now its done... it is not meant to be. We decide to throw in the towel... AFTER we check one more mall that lies on our way home... ALL or NOTHING one last time.. So we walk the long road to CineMAX Eternity... nice name. Ironic. There's another counter.. No posters.. 'Its not showing' We still check the listing.. 4:30 !!! Nooo they had it and we missed it. Wait my cousin says.. there is 7:15. Right.. there it is ... in nice white letters... Fingers crossed.
Tickets?
MBTC: Yes available.
Towards the back? (Greed raises its ugly head once again.. we were kind of ready to sit on the floor and watch by then.)
MBTC: Yeah second last row.
My card is out before any of the stars realign. Gimme Gimme Gimme!!!
HAAAAAALLLLLLLEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLUJJJJJJAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!
The gods have smiled on our perseverance. Card fails to pass the swipe test... heart going thump thump thump.. Work Work! it has to work!!... finally a ream of paper comes streamin out confirming the transact.
Ladies n Gentlemen... WE HAVE TICKETS!!!!!!!
Never in the history of human civilization, have i been so over joyed with 2 finger sized pieces of paper... I double check the names of the movie, the times, its too good to be true. But it is. Its 6. One more hour.. I'm ready. To celebrate the joyous occasion and since I have a Card and one hour in a mall, I cant help spending.. so clothes n chow. Finally the clock runs down.
The tamil populace slowly accumulates outside Screen 3.
As if to underline the real equation.. picture this. Screen 3 and 4. Screen 3 - Sivaji with a superlative snapshot of "The Boss". Screen 4 - Cheeni Kum with a poster of the Big B. Aha clash of the titans eh ?? I don't think I saw 10 people enter Screen 4. Say what you want.. The Boss just opened a can of TamilNada certified box office whoop ass I say.
Not that I spent that much time counting... I would have missed the start - that would have been stupid.. even for me. You'll just have to extrapolate my observations before while the Mob prayed for the speedy exit of the cleaning crew in Screen 4. And just before the tamilians were about to get hands on with the extremely diligent cleaners... they exited and Slow Mo Stampede !!!
So finally run in to our seats. Before the people settle in.. there's a trailer and I see a Rajni 2 decades younger in a Diablo like warrior prince getup. And I say damn! make up is good. How did he appear so soon this is plain irresponsible I was not ready.. the people are not in their seats..it could be a man-made disaster with the distracted participants falling over each other in the aisles. But turns out I am quite the ignoramus among the elite Tamil audience. It is his upcoming animated feature - Sultan ; its not actually him.
And then it begins with the letters of his name flying into place...
Reminiscent of the beginning of a Star Wars episode with the text scrolling into space.. It has begun!